Bottle filling apparatus



N 1969 SADAO NOGUCHI BOTTLE FILLING APPARATUS Filed June 14, 1966 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 4

INVENTOR. 5 HDHO N0 GUcH/ WM M! M Nov. 25, 1969 SADAO NOGUCHI 3,

BOTTLE FILLING APPARATUS Filed June 14, 1966 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hhln JNVENTOR. 530/3 0 No Qua/H MW M W W Nov. 25, 1969 SADAO NOGUCHI BOTTLE FILLING APPARATUS 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 14. 1966 INVENTOR. SAD/m NOGUCH Mia/w a/wd W Nov. 25, 1969 SADAO NOGUCHI BOTTLE FILLING APPARATUS 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 14. 1966 iOO'o FIG. 9

INVENTOR. SA a A/OGUCH/ BY Nov. 25, 1969 SADAO NOGUCHI 3,480,049

BOTTLE FILLING APPARATUS Filed June 14, 1966 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 6

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B; SHDAO NOGUCHI MAM 5m W06 W Nov. 25, 1969 SADAO NOGUCHI 3,430, 4

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WM a/WX/ W United States Patent 3,480,049 BOTTLE FILLING APPARATUS Sadao Noguchi, Nagoya-shi, Japan, assignor to Mitsubishi Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, Japan Filed June 14, 1966, Ser. No. 557,521 Int. Cl. B65b 57/02 US. Cl. 141-141 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bottle filling apparatus comprises a turntable rotatable about a vertical axis and having a single row of bottle supports extending around its periphery, each bottle support being aligned with a filling valve. The bottle supports are divided into two groups, with the supports of each group alternating with each other. The filling valves associated with one group are at a level different from the filling valves associated with the other group, and each group has a respective pair of valve actuators associated therewith, one for opening the associated valves and the other for closing the associated valves. When there is no bottle on a support, the latter can be raised to a level higher than when there is a bottle on the support, and such raising operates trigger mechanism for retracting the associated valve opening stop when the empty support reaches the angular position of the latter.

This invention relates to bottle filling apparatus and, more particularly, to a novel and simplified bottle filling apparatus operable at much higher speed than known bottle filling apparatus and including means for detecting an irregular feed of empty bottles and preventing false operation of the apparatus as a result of such irregular feeding.

An object of the invention is to provide a simplified bottle filling apparatus operable at much higher speed than any known bottle filling apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simplified bottle filling apparatus operating properly to fill empty bottles even in the case of an irregular feed of bottles to the apparatus.

. A further object of the invention is to provide a simplified bottle filling apparatus including mean for detecting the absence of empty bottles on carriers moving past filling stations and interrupting a filling operation responsive to the presence of an empty carrier at a filling station.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a simplified bottle filling apparatus having a high capacity and which is simple and inexpensive in construction.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a bottle filling apparatus, novel means for detecting the absence of empty bottles on carriers moving past filling stations and for interrupting the operation of a filling station responsive to the absence of an empty bottle in a carrier then at the station.

In accordance with the invention, a bottle filling apparatus is provided including a plate mounted for rotation about a vertical axis and supporting a plurality of lifting means arranged in uniformly circumferentially spaced relation around its periphery. Each of these lifting means has, at its upper end, a bottle support and carries, beneath the rotary plate, detecting means engageable with the rotary plate when no empty bottle is present on the bottle support of the respective lifting means. This detecting means includes spacers engageable with the rotary plate to limit upward movement of the associated lifting means. The arrangement is such that, when an empty bottle is on a bottle support of a lifting means, the upward movement of the lifting means is limited by engagement of the bottle with a bottle filling means disposed above the rotary plate. However, when no empty bottle is present on the bottle support of a lifting means, the latter can move further upwardly'to a detecting level whereat its spacing means engage the rotary plate. This discrepancy between the upper limit of movement of the lifting means when an empty bottle is on the bottle support and the detecting level position occupied when no empty bottle is on the bottle support, controls means for interrupting the operation of the particular bottle filling means associated with the lifting means then having no empty bottle on its bottle support. The spacer means are so adjusted as to length that, when adjacent lifting means have no bottles thereon, they are lifted to different and distinct levels.

The bottle filling means are arranged at stations corresponding in number 'to the lifting means and have valves associated therewith for selectively discharging liquid into bottles. These valves have first operators which are engaged by cam means or the like to open the respective valves when an empty bottle is then located in operative relation with the associated filling means. Other cam means are provided engageable with a second operator on each valve means to close the valve means after filling of an empty bottle. A liquid reservoir is associated with the apparatus and is connected to each of the bottle filling means through the associated valve means, means being provided to replenish the supply of liquid in the reservoir.

For an understanding of the principles of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of typical embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view, partly in section, of one form of bottle filling apparatus embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line IIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2a is a schematic wiring diagram illustrating the connection of solenoid valves used in the apparatus shown in the drawings;

FIG. 3 is a somewhat schematic developed elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and illustrating the sequence of filling operations;

FIG. 4 is a plan view .of another form of bottle filling apparatus embodying the invention; 1

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line VV of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view, similar to FIG. 3, but related to th apparatus shown in FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of bottle detecting and valve controlling components of the bottle filling apparatus shown in FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view, partly in section, of the apparatus shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a partial plan view corresponding to FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line XX of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on the line XI-XI of FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 8 and enclosed by the circle XII;

FIG. 13 is a partial developed view illustrating the valve opening apparatus with an empty bottle positioned on the bottle support as shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view, similar to FIG. 12, illustrating the position of certain parts when no empty bottle is present on the bottle support;

FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 13 but related to the condition shown in FIG. 14;

FIGS. 16a 16d constitute a series of vertical sectional views illustrating the operation of the valve means associated with each bottle filling means;

FIG. 17 is a partial schematic development view illustrating a modified form of valve operating mechanism used with the bottle filling apparatus of the invention; and

FIG. 18 is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 17.

Referring first to that embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, cleaned empty bottles A are carried by a feed conveyor 4 to a'feed screw 31 which delivers the bottles A to an inlet start wheel 1. Star wheel 1 transfers the bottles from feed screw 31 to a rotary bottle filling machine 2 in which the empty bottles are filled with liquid. The filled bottles A are transferred from bottle filling machine 2 to a crowning machine 32 by means of a'transverse star wheel 3. The crowned bottles from crowning machine 32 are delivered by a star wheel 33 to a discharge conveyor 5.

The bottle filling apparatus 2 includes a base or bed plate 34 on which there is a housing 35 enclosing a driving mechanism for driving inlet star wheel 1, bottle filling machine 2, transverse star wheel 3, feed screw 31 and crowning machine 32 in timed relation or synchronized relation with each other. A pedestal 36 is fixedly mounted on bed plate 34 and supports an upright cylindrical cross section main shaft 37 having its lower end secured to pedestal 36 by a nut 38. A bearing sleeve 39 is rotatably telescoped over main shaft 37 and its lower end fixedly carries a rotary plate 8. An internal ring gear 56 is provided on the undersurface of rotary plate 8 and engages a pinion 57 driven by the drive mechanism within housing 35, whereby plate 8 and sleeve 39 are rotated together. Plate 8 is formed with a series of apertures spaced uniformly around its periphery, and these apertures alternately receive fluid pressure actuators 9 and 9' constituting lifting members.

Pressure fluid for elevating actuators 9 and 9" is supplied, as indicated by the arrow 42, through a stuffing box 43 and a line 44 to an annular channel 40 in a support ring 11 for fluid pressure actuators 9 and 9", annular channel 40 being connected to the respective ports 41 of the fluid pressure actuators. The upper ends of actuators 9 and 9' carry bottle supports 12 and 12', respectively, to support the bottles A.

Below plate 8, each actuator 9 or 9 has fixed thereto a stop or abutment member 13, '13, respectively, each carrying a respective spacer 14 or 14' for limiting upward movement of the associated actuators 9 and 9 by engagement with plate 8. More particularly, when bottles A are supported on supports 12 and 12, lifting of actuators 9 and 9, which are to be raised to the bottle filling position, is limited by the lower ends C, 10C of filling valves 10 and 10', respectively, so that the supports 12 and 12' are at particular filling elevations as indicated at C and C in FIG. 3. It will be noted that the spacers 14' of actuators 9" are at a distance e from plate 8, which distance e' is greater than the distance e between plate 8 and the spacers 14 of the actuators 9.

Conversely, when no bottle A is present on a bottle support 12 or 12', actuators 9 and '9' can be raised until the upper ends of spacers 14, 14' abut against the lower surface of rotary plate -8 to stop upward movement of the associated actuators. In this case, and as indicated at D in FIG. 3, bottle support 12' is higher, by a distance f, than the bottle support 12 immediately to the left, as indicated at D in FIG. 3, with the bottle supports at D and D in FIG. 3, not having any empty bottles thereon, being at a higher elevation than the bottle supports 12 and 12', as indicated at E and E in FIG. 3. Thus, when bottles are on the supports 12 and 12', adjacent bottle supports are at the same level as indicated at C and C in FIG. 3, whereas, when no bottle A is present on the bottle support 12 or 12', the two bottle supports 12 and 12" occupy different elevations spaced by the vertical distance f.

A cam plate extends between inlet star Wheel 1 and transverse star Wheel 3, this cam plate having a .4 cam on its lower edge engageable with the upper edges of members 13 and 13 of actuators 9 and 9'. Cam plate 15 is thus eifective to mechanically lower actuators 9 and 9'. With the arrangement thus far described, actuators 9 and 9 leaving the transverse star wheel 3 are lowered by engagement of their members 13, 13' with the lower edge of cam plate 15 so that they reach inlet star wheel 1 in a lowered position. Empty bottles A placed on supports 12 and 12' at inlet star wheel 1 are raised, by further rotation of plate 8, in accordance with the upward slope of cam plate 15 and under the action of pressure fluid supplied to actuators 9 and 9. The bottles A are then filled with liquid and again lowered, by virtue of cam plate 15, for transfer to crowning machine 32 by means of transfer star wheel 3.

This action will now be described in more detail with particular reference to FIG. 3. Empty bottles A are transferred from inlet star wheel 1 onto supports 12, 12' when actuators 9, 9' are at their lowermost positions under the action of cam plate 15 engaging abutments 13, 13. As rotary plate 8 continues to rotate, actuators 9 9' rise along the upwardly sloping portion of the cam surface of cam plate 15 until the mouths of the empty bottles on supports 12 and 12' are covered by the lowered ends 10C, 10C of filling valves 10, 10', respectively. Further upward movement is restricted by these lower ends 10C, 10C so that supports 12 and 12' are situated at the same level as indicated at C, C' in FIG. 3. In case no bottle is present on the support 12 or 12, the associated actuator 9 or 9 is raised until respective spacers 14 or 14' abut against plate 8. Consequently, the supports 12 and 12' have different vertical elevations as indicated at D and D in FIG. 3, the elevations dilfering by the distance 1.

Additionally, when empty bottles are present on a support 12 or 12', associated trips 6 and 6' trigger filling valves 10 and 10' operative as described hereinafter, whereas, when no bottle is present on a support 12 or 12', thisis detected by detecting mechanisms, described hereinafter, which then retract trips 6 and 6' from the tabs of the filling valves 10 and 10' which move in synchronism with rotary plate 8 so that filling valves 10 and 10' are inoperative.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 2, a bracket 89 is secured to theupper end of sleeve 39 and carries, on its periphery, a number of filling valves 10 and 10', equal to the number of actuators 9 and 9', arranged alternately at different levels in correspondence with the levels of supports 12 and 12' when no empty bottles are on these supports, and as shown in FIG. 3. Valves 10 and 10' are provided with opening levers 10a and 10a, respectively, actuated by respective opening trips 6 and 6'. The valves are also provided with closing levers 10b and 10b actuated by respective closing trips 7 and 7', all described more fully hereinafter. A liquid reservoir 86 is secured to the center of bracket 89 by means of bolts 94, and has arranged therein a float for controlling the liquid level, this float not having been shown in the drawings. Reservoir 86 is connected to the filling valves 10 and 10 by means of respective liquid pipes 87 and 87' and respective air pipes 88 and 88'. Filling valves 10 and 10' have a known construction. Liquid is supplied to reservoir 86 as indicated by the arrow in pipe 49, the liquid flowing through a main liquid supply line 50 and a stufiing box 53. The liquid is then supplied to the then opened valves 10 and 10' and from there into the bottles A to fill the bottles. Air within the bottles A is expelled into reservoir 86 through air pipes 88 and 88.

As best seen in FIG. 1, valve opening trips 6 and 6' are arranged adjacent the periphery of the rotating parts a short distance from the inlet end of the bottle filling machine. Correspondingly, a pair of valve closing trips 7 and 7 are arranged adjacent the periphery of the rotating parts a short distance in advance of the outlet of bottle filling machine 2. Trips 6 and 6' are actuated by respective fiuid pressure actuators 22 and 22' which are clamped by U-bolts 90 and wing nuts 91 to a ring secured to supporting posts 60 fixed to machine bed 34. Actuators 22 and 22' are spaced apart a predetermined angular distance in the direction of rotation of plate 8 and at different elevations, each corresponding to the elevation of an associated valve 10 or 10, as best seen in FIG. 2. Trip 6 is connected to a piston 23 of actuator 22 so that it can be projected under the action of pressure fluid supplied at 25 through a solenoid controlled valve to actuator 22. When the fluid is supplied to actuator 22, trip 6 is projected into the path of movement of the opening lever 10a of the valves 10 and against the bias of a spring 24 within the cylinder of actuator 22 and biasing piston 23 to retract trip 6. When the pressure fluid acting on piston 23 is exhausted through the valve to the exhaust 26, valve opening trip 6 is retracted under the bias of spring 24 and out of the path of movement of valve opening levers 10a. Admission and exhaust of pressure fluid relative to actuator 22 is controlled by signals from a bottle detecting mechanism described hereinafter and which signal controls a three-way solenoid valve 21. Valve 21, together with piston 23 and a microswitch 20, constitutes a controlling mechanism for controlling the projection or retraction of valve opening trip 6.

Microswitch 20 is mounted below actuator 22, being secured to an arm 93 which, in turn, is secured to ring 58 through means including a bolt 92. A switch actuating lever 18 is pivoted on arm 93 by means of a pin 17 and, together with a roller 16 rotatably mounted on its free end, as well as a spring 19, constitutes the bottle detecting mechanism. Thus, in case there is no empty bottle A on the bottle support 12, lever 18 is engaged by support 12 of an actuator or lifting means 9 which has been raised until its associated spacer 14 engages the lower surface of rotary plate 8. Swinging of lever 18 closes contacts 20a of microswitch 20 to thereby energize an excitation coil 21a in series with contacts 20a, as shown in FIG. 2a. Valve 21 is thereby operated to connect actuator 22 to the exhaust 26, so that trip 6 is retracted by the bias of spring 24. Conversely, when a support 12 having an empty bottle A thereon does not engage roller 16 of lever 18, solenoid valve 21 is deenergized because of the then opened contact 20a so that piston 23, under the influence of pressure fluid supplied to actuator 22 at admission port 25 of valve 21, projects trip 6 into the path of movement of the valve opening levers 10a. The valve opening mechanism, controlling mechanism and bottle detecting mechanism for a bottle on a support 12 of an actuator are identical in construction and operation with that mentioned above for a bottle on the bottle support 12.

In addition, valve closing trips 7 and 7' are secured to ring 58 adjacent the outlet side of the bottle filling machine, these trips having the same relative vertical and circumferential spacing from each other as those of the opening trips 6 and 6. Trips 7 and 7' project into the path of the valve closing levers 10b and 10b. When valve closing levers 10b and 10b are operated by trips 7 and 7', respectively, the respective valves 10 and 10' interrupt the supply of liquid from reservoir 86 to bottles A.

The process of filling a bottle will now be explained with reference to a bottle A on a bottle support 12 of an actuator 9, and it should be understood that the operation with respect to a bottle A on the bottle support 12' of an actuator 9' is identical. As actuator 9 having a bottle A on its bottle support 12 is moved, by rotation of plate 8 in the direction indicated by an arrow, it is raised, in accordance with the slope of cam plate 15, under the influence of pressure fluid supplied to the actuator. When member 13 disengages cam plate 15, the mouth of the bottle is brought into contact with a member 100 of valve 10 and the bottle is ready for filling. With continued rotation of plate 8, opening lever 10a of valve 10 engages trip 6 which extends into its path of movement, and is rotated counterclockwise, by trip 6, until the free end of lever 10a extends between lines a and a of FIG. 3. Valve 10 thereby is opened so that liquid from reservoir 86 is supplied through pipe 87 and valve 10 to bottle A. With further rotation of plate 8, closing lever 10b of valve 10 engages closing trip 7 and is rotated clockwise with the free end thereof extending between the line b and the line b' of FIG. 3. This closes valve 10, to interrupt supply of liquid to bottle A. Actuator 9 is then lowered due to the action of cam plate 15, and causes the bottle A supported on its support 12 to disengage the valve 10. The filled bottle A is transferred to the crowning machine 32 by transverse star wheel 3. It will be noted that filling of bottles transferred from inlet star wheel 1 can take place continuously.

When a bottle is by chance absent on bottle support 12, actuator 9 is moved upwardly, by the action of the pressure fluid therein, until the supper end of a spacer 14 abuts the lower surface of plate 8. Thus, support 12 is lifted above the position it would occupy if a bottle A were supported thereon. Lever 18 is consequently swung outwardly, by engagement with support 12, to open contact 20a of microswitch 20 to deenergize solenoid valve 21. Pressure fluid acting on piston 23 of actuator 22 is now exhausted at 26, so that the free end of trip 6 is retracted from the path of movement of valve opening lever 10a. Thus, the valve opening lever 10a will not be actuated by trip 6 and the valve 10 will remain closed.

It is not possible to increase operating speed of a trip 6 or 6 above a certain value insofar as the individual operating mechanism is concerned. A trip which has once been retracted due to absence of a bottle must complete its re-extension before the next actuator 9 or 9' carrying a bottle reaches the trip. In other words, the rotary speed of plate 8 is limited by the operating speed of the trips 6 and 6'. In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, since the upper level of one set of supports 12 or 12 is different from the upper level of the other set of supports 12 or 12, and with the associated valves 10, 10 and trips 6, 6 being correspondingly vertically spaced, the bottle detecting mechanisms and the trip controlling mechanisms are at different levels so that they are actually arranged in pairs, each comprising a support 12 and a support 12, with the supports 12 and 12 alternating with each other. Consequently, the control mechanisms and the like of alternate stations can operate independently from each other. Consequently, the operating speed and thus the filling capacity of the machine can be increased independently of the speed of operation of the trips 6 and 6'.

Thus, when bottles are feduninterruptedly to the supports 12, the filling operation is carried out smoothly. However, when the feed of the bottles is irregular so that one of the supports 12 does not carry a bottle, the operation speed of the trip for preventing the bottle filling operation is an important factor in high speed operation of the filling machine. In the present instance, if no bottle A is present between a support 12' and the associated filling valve 10, the associated cylinder 9 takes a position, as shown in FIG. 3; in which the spacing e between spacer 14 and plate 8 is reduced to zero. In other words, support 12, with no bottle thereon, is located higher, by the distance e, than it would be were a bottle thereon, and in a position to engage the roller 16' of the bottle detecting mechanism to operate a microswitch 20'a. The solenoid valve 21' is then energized to exhaust pressure fluid from actuator 22 and, under its spring bias, trip 6' is moved out of the path of opening lever 10a of valve 10'. There is thus no possibility of accidental opening of the valve 10 when an empty support 12 passes by trip 6. When the next succeeding support 12, having a bottle A thereon, moves into position adjacent trip 6, the opening lever 10a of its associated valve 10 engages trip 6, which is at a level different from that of trip 6'. Thus, the associated valve 10 is opened. Consequently, even though the valve 10 passes the trip 6 at high speed and before the latter has again been projected into its projecting position, as a result of microswitch 20'a being reopened, the valve will always be opened because it is operated by trip 6 independently of trip 6'. Accordingly, at a given operational speed of the trips, the operation of the bottle filling machine can be twice that of a machine in which all the bottle supports are at the same active level or at the same inactive level and all cooperate with a single valve opening trip. It will be apparent that the filling capacity of the bottle filling machine could be increased three or four times by selecting three or four uppermost positions of successive bottle supports in accordance with the angular intervals between the supports and correspondingly arranging the bottle detecting mechanisms, the valves, and the trip controlling mechanisms.

FIGS. 4 through illustrate a second embodiment of the invention in which parts similar to or identical with those of the embodiment just described are designated with the same reference numerals. In this second embodiment of the invention, an annular liquid reservoir 46 is supported on plate 8 by means of plural support frames 45. A number of bottle filling valves 47, 47 equal to the number of fluid pressure actuators 9, 9" are arranged on the bottom wall of reservoir 46 at angular spacings equal to those of actuators 9 and 9. In this embodiment of the invention, valves 47 and 47 are, differently from the valves 10 and 10' of the embodiments shown in FIGS.

1, 2 and 3, arranged at the same height as will be noted from FIG. 6. Valve operating levers 100 and 100' are provided with upwardly extending arms 100a and 100a, respectively, lying on cylindrical surfaces of different radii with respect to the axis of the filling machine. The operating levers are further provided with downwardly extending arms 10% and 1001) lying on the same cylindrical surface with respect to the axis of the filling machine. The structure and operation of the valves 47 and 47, and of the operating levers 100 and 100', is disclosed in detail in US. Patents Nos. 2,640,640 and 2,796,892. The valves are shown in some detail in FIGS. 16a-16d, along with the valve operators 100.

Liquid is supplied to reservoir 46 from an inlet indicated by the arrow 49 through pipe 50, a stuffing box 53, a distribution box 54, and branch pipes 55. When the upwardly extending arm 100a, 100a is operated by a stop 6a or 6a, liquid in reservoir 46 is delivered to a bottle A through the then opened valve 47 or 47. At the same time, air from the bottle is discharged through the valve into the reservoir 46. A snifting of the filled bottle can be effected by means of a snifting valve 48 or 48 associated with each valve 47 or 47, respectively.

Latches 6a and 6a for operating valves 47 and 47', and corresponding to trips 6 and 6' of the embodiment of FIG. 1, are arranged on ring 58. Ring 58 also carries a neutral cam 62, a valve closing cam 7a, a snifting cam 63, bottle detecting mechanisms and controlling mechanisms. Closing cam 7a corresponds to the closing trip 7 and 7 of the embodiments of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, and operates commonly both downwardly extending arms 10% and 10012 of valves 47 and 47, respectively.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 7 through 11, an upper bracket 77 is secured to ring 58 by means of U-bolts 81 and wing nuts 82. The angular position at which bracket 77 is secured to ring 58 is just behind the angular position at which actuators 9 and 9, not having bottles A on their bottle supports 12 and 12', respectively, are raised to the uppermost position at which the respective spacers 14 and 14 engage the lower surface of rotary plate 8.

A lower bracket 75 is secured to the lower end of upper bracket 77 by means of suitable securing elements, such as bolts 76. Angle levers or bell crank 118 and 118' are pivotally mounted on pins or shafts 17 and 17', respectively, at the lower end of bracket 75. Rollers 116 and 116" are rotata=bly mounted in the free ends of levers 118 and 118, respectively, by means of respective shafts 64 and 64. Rollers 116 and 116', levers 118 and 118, and respective springs 119 and 119' described hereinafter, constitute bottle detecting mechanisms. This embodiment of the invention is similar to that shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 in that levers 118 and 118 are independently swung by bottle supports 12 and 12' which have been raised due to having no bottles thereon, as best seen in FIGS. 8 and 12. Tension springs 119 and 119 have their upper ends fixed to bracket 75 and their lower ends connected to pins 65 and 65', respectively, and mounted in the ends of the generally horizontal arms of angle levers 118 and 118', respectively. These tension springs thereby bias rollers 116 and 116' toward actuators 9 and 9, respectively.

A safety bracket 79 is pivotally mounted on an upper portion of bracket 77 by means of a pin 78, and is biased by a spring against a shoulder of bracket 77. Bracket 79 carries rotatable shafts 71 and 71 extending perpendicularly thereto, and the ends of levers 7.0 and 70 are pivotally mounted on shafts 71 and 71. Upper clevises 68 and 68 are pivoted on the free ends of levers 70 and 70, respectively, by means of respective pins 69 and 69. Clevices 68 and 68' are connected to lower clevices 66 and 66, respectively, by means of respective rods 67 and 67. Lower clevices 66 and 66 are pivoted on pin 65 and 65. Pawls 72 and 72 are pivoted on shafts 71 and 71', respectively, and are engageable with respective latches 6a and 6a pivotally mounted on bracket 79 by means of respective shafts 73 and 73'. The position of pawl 72 and 72' determines whether latches 6a and 6a can be swung or are restrained against swinging. Limiting stop pins 74 and 74 are secured to bracket 79 and limit movement of latches 6a and 6a in the downward direction. Rods 67, 67, levers 70, 70', shafts 71, 71 and pawls 72, 72' constitute valve controlling mechanisms.

In the case of a uniform feed of empty bottle to the bottle filling machine, so that bottles are carried by all of the supports 12 and 12 moving in unison with the rotary plate 8, the rollers 116 and 116 on respective levers 118 and 118' will not engage supports 12 and 12'. Consequently, levers 118 and 118 are swung clockwise under the bias of springs 119 and 119', as shown in FIG. 12, until the generally horizontal arms of levers 18 and 18 abut against the lower ends of adjustable stops 83, 83' carried on lower bracket 75. The pawls 72 and 72, connected to the levers 118 and 118, respectively, through the respective rods 67 and 67, are thus engaged with the associated latches 6a and 6a to maintain the latter in the position as shown in FIG. 13. Thus, when actuators 9 and 9 carrying empty bottles on their supports 12 and 12' pass the latches 6a and 6a, the upwardly extending arms a and 100a of the respective operating lever 100 and 100 of the associated filling valves 47 and 47 are swung clockwise by latches 6a and 611', respectively, to open the filling valves. These filling valves correspond to the valve 47a such as shown in FIG. 16, and provide for liquid to flow from reservoir 46 into the bottles.

Valves 47 and 47 are closed by virtue of closing cams 7a and 7a operating the valve operators 100 and 100 in the same manner as described for the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Snifting valves 48 associated with the respective filling valves 47 and 47' are opened by snifting cam 63 to effect snifting of the bottles to atmosphere as a finishing step of filling the bottles.

If no empty bottle has been supplied to the bottle support 12' of one actuator 9, owing to an irregular bottle feed, this support 12' is raised and engages roller 116', a shown in FIG. 14. As a result, lever 118 is swung counterclockwise to pull rod 67 downwardly and thereby disengage the connected pawl 72 from the associated latch 6a as shown in FIG. 15. As trip 6a is now freely swingable, the operating lever 100 passing trip 6a is not influenced by the latter so that the associated filling valve 47 remains closed. Trip 116 returns to its latched position before the next operating lever 100' arrives thereat.

The third embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 is identical with that shown in FIGS. 4 through 16 except that the trips 6 and 6 of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are used and the length of upwardly extending arms 200a of operating levers 200 dilfers from that of upwardly extending arms 200a of adjacent operating levers 200'.

What is claimed is:

1. Bottle filling apparatus comprising, in combination, a substantially circular plate mounted for rotation about a substantially upright axis; driving means rotating said plate; a plurality of lifting means carried by said plate at substantially uniform angular spacings in a single annular row around its periphery, said lifting means extending through said plate for reciprocation relative thereto; a plurality of bottle supports each carried on the upper end of a respective lifting means; said lifting means being arranged in plural groups and being disposed in sets peripherally of said plate, each set including one lifting means of each group and the sequence of lifting means, as to respective groups, being the same in each set; a liquid reservoir carried by said plate; a plurality of filling valves carried by said plate and connected to said reservoir, and each aligned above a respective lifting means; respective valve opening and closing means controlling each filling valve; respective stop means on each lifting means below said plate and operable to engage said plate to limit upward movement of the associated lifting means, when no bottle is carried by the bottle support of the latter, to a detecting level above the bottle filling level of the associated lifting means; said stop means being so positioned on each lifting means that all the lifting means of a respective group are limited to the same detecting level, and the detecting level of each group differs from that of each other group, whereby the bottle supports of peripherally adjacent lifting means are lifted to different detecting levels when no bottle is positioned thereon; controlling means operable on said opening and closing means to open and reclose the associated filling valve; detecting means operable by bottle supports not having bottles thereon and connected to said controlling means to render the latter ineffective to operate the valve opening means. of a filling valve aligned with the associated lifting means; said detecting means comprising respective detecting means for each group of lifting means engaged by bottle supports at the respective detecting level and connected to said controlling means to render the latter ineffective to operate the valve opening means of a filling valve aligned with a lifting means not having a bottle on its support; each stop means comprising a mounting means secured to the associated lifting means, the mounting means being at the same distance beneath said plate; a respective spacer secured to each mounting means and projecting toward said plate, all the spacers of the lifting means of each respective group projecting the same distance toward said plate, and the spacers of different groups projecting different distances toward said plate; inlet means delivering empty bottles to said bottle supports at an inlet location; outlet means removing filled bottles from said bottle supports at an outlet location spaced angularly from said inlet location; said controlling means comprising controlling means operable on said valve opening and closing means to open the associated valve and located adjacent the inlet location, and controlling means operable on said valve opening and closing means to close the associated valve and located in advance of the outlet location; the controlling means operable on said valve opening and closing means to open the associated valve being selectively efiective in the path of travel of said valve opening and closing means when an empty bottle is on a bottle support and selectively ineffective in said path of travel when no bottle is on a bottle support as detected by said detecting means; said valve opening and closing means each comprising a respective valve opening operator and a respective valve closing operator controlling each filling valve.

2. Bottle filling apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, in which said controlling means comprises first trips adjacent said inlet location selectively engageable with said valve opening operators in accordance with whether or not the associated bottle support has an empty bottle thereon; and second trips in advance of said outlet location and engageable with said valve closing operators.

3. Bottle filling apparatus, as claimed in claim 2, in which all of the filling valves associated with each group of lifting means are at the same level, and the filling valves associated with different groups of lifting means are at respective different levels; said first trips comprising a respective trip for each group of lifting means, and said respective trips being located at respective levels corresponding to the level of the filling valves of the re.- spective group.

4. Bottle filling apparatus, as claimed in claim 3, in which the valve opening trips are selectively movable into and out of the path of travel of said valve opening operators; and retracting means operatively associated with said detecting means and operable to retract a valve opening trip responsive to detection of a bottle support not having a bottle thereon as it passes the valve opening trip.

5. Bottle filling apparatus, as claimed in claim 2, in which said valve opening operators comprise valve opening levers, the levers of adjacent filling valves differing in length so that their free ends are at respective different levels, said trips comprising a respective trip associated with each respective group of lifting means, and each respective trip being located at the corresponding respective level of the free ends of the valve opening levers of the valves of the respective group.

6. Bottle filling apparatus, as claimed in claim 5, in which said valve closing operators comprise valve closing levers, all of said levers having free ends at the same level, said valve closing trip being located at a level such as to engage each of said valve closing levers.

7. Bottle filling apparatus, as claimed in claim 2, in which said opening trips comprise one respective trip for each' group of lifting means; said valve opening means comprising a respective valve opening lever and 3. respective valve closing lever controlling each filling valve, all of said valve opening levers having free ends of substantially the same level; means pivotally mounting said valve opening trips with their free ends gravity biased to substantially the level of said valve opening levers to consecutively engage the same and open the associated valves; respective latch means normally latching each valve opening trip in its gravity biased position; said detecting means releasing the latch means for a valve opening trip, responsive to detection of a bottle support with no bottle thereon, whereby, as the valve opening lever of the filling valve associated with the empty bottle support engages the associated trip, it will swing the associated trip upwardly without actuation of the valve opening lever.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,145,765 1/1939 Huntley et al. 141-141 X 2,202,033 5/ 1940 Stewart et al 141-148 X 2,759,649 8/1956 Stigler 141143 2,783,787 3/1957 Day et a1. 14l-141 3,047,032 7/1962 Carter 14l-149 X FOREIGN PATENTS 970,044 8/ 8 Germany.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner E. J. EARLS, Assistant Examiner 

